1. Rant-and-rave overthinking is the most familiar type and usually centers around some wrong we believe has been done to us. Rants and raves tend to take on an air of wounded self-righteousness and focus on designing a retributions that will severely sting our victimizers… rant-and-rave overthinking tends to paint others as terrible villains without considering the “other side of the story.”

2.Life-of-their-own overthinking begins innocently as we notice we’re feeling upset or we ponder a recent event. Then we begin to entertain possible causes for our feelings… all these possibilities seem highly likely. We accept all the explanations we generate, especially the most dramatic ones, as equally plausible.

3. Chaotic overthinking occurs when we don’t move in a straight line from one problem to another, but it is as if all kinds of concerns, many of the unrelated, flood our minds all at the same time… Chaotic overthinking can be especially immobilizing because we can’t identify what we feel or think very clearly-we are just overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts that disorient us and often cause us to shut down or run away. -Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life

Writing Prompt: Write an inner monologue for your character that involves overthinking.

Journaling Prompt: Write about a time when you got stuck in an overthinking cycle.

Art Prompt: Overthinking

Speech/Creative NonFiction Prompt: Write about how overthinking damages personal and professional relationships.